The Guilt of Leaving "On Time": A Look Through a Lacanian Lens

Why We Eat Sad Desk Lunches: What Instant Noodles (and Two Famous Thinkers) Tell Us About Work Culture

Have you ever seen a colleague slurping instant noodles at their desk and wondered if they actually enjoy it? A simple observation like this can reveal a lot about the pressures of modern work life. When a co-worker chooses a quick, bland meal over something more satisfying, it’s not just about convenience—it’s a sign of a much bigger issue that influential thinkers have explored.

Food as Fuel, Not Fun: The Commodification of Time

On the surface, it's about efficiency. But as the social theorist David Harvey pointed out, this points to a larger phenomenon he termed the "commodification of time." This is the idea that in our capitalist culture, time itself is turned into a product to be managed, optimised, and sold for maximum output.

Think about the paid lunch break. Harvey’s concept helps us see that when we choose an instant meal, we're effectively trading our restorative leisure time for more productivity. The break becomes a quick "refuelling" stop rather than a genuine pause. Food is no longer about an enjoyable sensory experience; it becomes, as Harvey's theory suggests, a tool to facilitate uninterrupted work. This blurs the lines between our personal time and work time, reinforcing the idea that we should always be "on."

The Guilt of Leaving "On Time": A Look Through a Lacanian Lens

Beyond the need to get work done, there's a deeper, psychological reason we push ourselves. What starts as staying late for a deadline can morph into a habit driven by guilt. This is where the ideas of the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan become incredibly insightful for understanding our internal motivations.

Lacan’s work helps us understand the "pathological guilt" that can spread through an office. Why do we feel like we're slacking if we leave "on time"?

• The Inner Critic (The Superego): Lacan’s concept of the "Superego" is perfect for describing this. Think of it as an internalised, harsh inner boss that has absorbed the values of our work culture. This inner critic demands relentless productivity and judges us as inadequate when we try to rest, causing that nagging feeling of guilt.

• The Never-Ending Chase (Lack and Objet petit a): Lacan also argued that humans experience a fundamental sense of "lack"—a feeling of being incomplete. In our work lives, we project this feeling onto an external goal. We believe the next promotion, a word of praise, or a higher status will finally fill that void. Lacan called this elusive prize the "objet petit a" or the object of our desire that always seems just out of reach.

Performing for a Prize That Never Comes

This brings us to the performance of work. Staying late is often a conscious effort to win that objet petit a. We perform our dedication—waiting for the boss to leave first, sending late-night emails—to signal our indispensability. We do this in the hope of finally obtaining the recognition or security that we believe will make us feel whole.

However, as Lacan’s theory suggests, the problem is that this object of desire is, by its nature, an illusion. Even if we get the promotion, the satisfaction is temporary. The feeling of "lack" soon returns, trapping us in a self-perpetuating cycle of overwork as we chase the next thing we believe will finally fix it.

In conclusion, the next time you see that cup of noodles, you can see it not just as a quick lunch, but as a symbol of a complex system. It represents the "commodification of time" that David Harvey described, where every minute is for work. And it reveals our internal struggles—the guilt from a demanding "Superego" and the endless chase for an elusive "objet petit a," as so brilliantly explored by Jacques Lacan.